FLOATING MARINE LITTER IN THE NORTHEASTERN ATLANTIC IN AUTUMN 2022

Abstract

Ship-borne observations of floating marine litter in the northeastern region of the Atlantic Ocean were carried out during the 45th cruise of the R/V “Professor Logachev”. The route of the vessel covered the waters of the Baltic, North Seas, the English Channel, the northeastern region of the Atlantic Ocean. A small amount of floating marine litter was found in the surveyed water areas. In total, 37 objects 5–40 cm in size were noted, which were found in single quantities, there were no litter accumulations. Plastic made up 89 % of the total amount of recorded litter items. Basically, these are various plastic pieces 2.5–50 cm in size, plastic bags including pieces and other plastic items. The distribution of floating marine litter was uneven along the vessel’s route. It was not found in the Baltic and North Seas. Its concentration in the English Channel was 1.52 items/km2; in general, in the water area of the northeastern Atlantic – 1.08 items/km2; off the coast of Portugal and west of the Canary Islands – 1.41 and 6.43 items/km2 respectively. Thus, it has been shown that the open part of the Atlantic Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere far from the coast and outside the subtropical circulation is not characterized by pollution by floating marine litter. A significant increase in concentration was noted only in the outer region of the accumulation zone, due to the North Atlantic gyre. In addition, the importance of adopting and complying with the rules of international and regional conventions in the field of waste management was noted.